Lent 3 A + Be Not Afraid + 3.15.20

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M. Campbell-Langdell
All Santos, Oxnard
(Exodus 17:1-7; Psalm 95; Romans 5:1-11; John 4:5-42)

Did any of you go on a shopping trip this past week? I did last Saturday and it was weird. One staff member at Sprout’s was huddled next to the coffee samples saying “he needed a fix.” And there was all the regular food but nothing to be found in terms of disinfecting wipes or hand sanitizer, usually something that is so prolific even in natural foods stores. I went to Winco and bought soap, but again no Purell. None at the Dollar Store. None at Von’s later this week. I began to worry, what if we don’t have enough hand sanitizer gel at church for worship? And then I remembered, “Do not be afraid.” And I decided to trust that there would be enough until the stores re-stock, and-or we can simply wash our hands well.
Is the Lord among us or not? That is a question that the Israelites ask in today’s scripture. The Israelites are thirsty, and God meets their need in a miraculous way by bringing water from the rock via Moses. Today we face a health crisis and a scary economic time, and we may feel the anxiety in the air. We may wonder “Is the Lord among us our not?” God is among us, but may not always show us in such miraculous signs.
I read an article this week about “The First Rule of Pastoring in an Outbreak.” Nathan Dove told pastors to tell the truth. Not to sugar-coat the situation. We don’t want to freak people out but we have to be real about the risks while trying not to fall into political arguments.[1] Because Jesus does want us to be healthy. Not to be afraid, but to have life in its fullness. And Jesus wants us to have the truth, while remembering the truth that God is still in control.
Truth. This is a big theme in today’s passage from John, the discussion of Jesus with the Samaritan Woman at the well. At one moment Jesus mentions to the woman to “call her husband, and come back.” And she mentions she has no husband. And then he says that she has had five husbands and that the one she is living with now is not her husband. For many years I heard this as a strange, somewhat shaming message to the woman. A kind of: “Huh. You got me!” But John scholar Karoline Lewis says that this interaction is not meant to shame the woman at the well. It is supposed to show her that Jesus knows her sad truth. That she was married, five times, and either lost those partners to death or divorce, and that she now is living with her husband’s brother.[2] She may feel like a hanger-on, or an extraneous family member. She may feel alone and abandoned.
Imagine her for a moment, this woman who meets Jesus. She may seem strong on the outside, a proud woman trying to help her family, walking with the water jar to fill it. At midday, so sort of avoiding the crowds. Perhaps she is practicing “social distancing” J . But here she is, cradling her water jar, and she is seeking the security of water in a time of being parched – because if you have been the desert at midday you know sometimes you are desperate for water. Kind of like us with the hand sanitizer right now, or the bottled water. Grasping in part because of a real need and in part for security.
Or like those getting the “ticket to life” face masks being advertised. Is the Lord among us? Or do we need every possible layer of protection even if it keeps another from getting a mask who may need it due to being in a healthcare field?
But back to our lady. At first, she sees Jesus as a rude Jewish man. I mean, Jews weren’t supposed to associate with Samaritan women. So he must be weird or rude.
Then he is someone offering water, and she says, OK. That sounds interesting. That’s what I came here for, after all.
Then, through the revelation I previously mentioned, Jesus shows himself to be someone who knows the truth. And she begins to wonder…
Could this be a Prophet, a Messiah, a Savior? And she eventually begins to believe that is exactly who he is.
And not just someone who will save her in the future, with eternal life.
But now. Someone who can loose her binds right now.
Because, talking with Jesus, both nothing and everything have changed. It is still hot and she still needs water, but she senses the Lord is with her. And now she is free. She casts aside water jar – not because she will never need water again. She is still human. We all are. Even Jesus asks for water! But because she feels her freedom.
She lays down that burden of the clay jar. And with it she lays burdens down of loneliness and shame. She is a free woman.
Free to tell the truth about Jesus with others, to share salvation and good news. She has a mission.
What is the good news today?
The Lord is among us.
We are not alone.
We have a Savior.
Yes we must be proactive. We have bodily needs and need to tend to them and help others to do the same.
But we should not be afraid.
It is not always easy
The Israelites suffered in the desert, but God provided.
The road will not be easy, even for the chosen of God.
But God is among us.
And if God is with us, what can stand against us?
So we must not be afraid.
God will work through us
Yes we may practice social distancing. But let us be careful not to isolate emotionally and spiritually. Make eye contact at the supermarket, and smile, as our own Rev. Bill Knutson told me he was doing this week. Reach out to others if you need a hand, or if they seem to need a hand. Make a point of reaching out to three others who might need encouragement; who might need to know God is among us this week.
God is among us
And we have helping hands right here.
Let us support one another.
Maybe this is all overblown.
But maybe it is real,
Either way, the real test is how they will know we are Christians - how they will know God is among us
And how others will learn the truth about Jesus and loving one another - from us.

[1] Nathan Dove, “The First Rule of Pastoring During an Outbreak,” Sojourners Magazine, March 9, 2020, https://sojo.net/articles/first-rule-pastoring-during-outbreak-tell-truth.
[2] Karoline Lewis, “Sermon Brainwave #712: Third Sunday in Lent,” for March 15, 2020, https://www.workingpreacher.org/brainwave.aspx?podcast_id=1238. (Also featuring: Rolf Jacobson, Joy J. Moore and Matt Skinner.)

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